basketball kingdom

Chapter 203 Rocket

Chapter 203 Rocket

Tickets for the Houston Rockets are selling well, and almost every game can be sold out, but because season ticket holders often don't go to the game, the attendance at home is worrying.

The situation tonight is different from the past. The sales of popcorn and Coke in the Toyota Center Arena clearly show the number of fans watching the game.

Fans walking outside the Toyota Center arena, whenever they see the media footage, they can't help shouting, "Xu, Sucks!"

George has watched the video of Rockets fans burning the No. 10 jersey spread on the Internet, and he is really curious about how Xu Tian, ​​a player with a personality, will respond.

The Houston Rockets, domestic fans are certainly no strangers to this team.

The Houston Rockets were established in 1967 and joined the NBA in the 1967-68 season. At that time, the Rockets' home court was still in San Diego.

In 1971, the team moved from San Diego to Houston.

The Rockets won the No. 1972 pick in the second year of their formation and selected Elvin Hayes, but he failed to lead the team to perform well and was traded by the team in [-].

In the chaotic and confused years, the Rockets entered the playoffs twice, but they failed to achieve good results.

In 1976, the Rockets ushered in the first superstar in team history-Moses Malone.

Moses Malone was the NBA's first high school draftee.He started his career in the ABA in 1974. When the ABA and NBA merged in the 1975-76 season, Malone was selected by the Trail Blazers with the fifth overall pick, but he did not play for the team.

Before the start of the 1976-77 season, Malone was traded to the Buffalo Warriors, played only two games and was traded to the Houston Rockets.That season he led the Rockets to the playoffs and lost to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the 1977-78 season, Tomjanovich was severely injured by Kermit Washington. The Rockets' strength was greatly reduced and they failed to make the playoffs.

In the 1978-79 season, Moses Malone broke out, averaging 24.8 points and 17.6 rebounds per game, and won the most valuable player in the regular season of the season.But the situation changed suddenly in the playoffs, and the Rockets were eliminated in the first round.

In the 1979-80 season, the Rockets played well and eliminated the Spurs 2-1 in the first round, but they encountered the Celtics in the semifinals and were unfortunately eliminated.

In the 1980-81 season, Moses Malone led the Rockets to the finals, but in the finals, the Rockets lost to the powerful Celtics and missed the championship.

In the 1981-82 season, the Rockets were eliminated in the first round, and then they were overthrown and rebuilt.Moses Malone tested the waters of free agency that summer, joining the Philadelphia 76ers, where he would go on to win a championship.

The rebuilt Rockets were very lucky. They won the No. [-] pick for two consecutive years, and successively selected Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, the number one star in team history.

In the 1984-85 season, the Rockets returned to the playoffs, but lost to the Jazz in the first round and were unfortunately out.

In the 1985-86 season, Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson led the Rockets to the finals, but eventually lost to the Celtics and missed the championship trophy again.

In the next few seasons, the Rockets fell unexpectedly, Ralph Sampson's departure, the guards were suspended by the league for drug abuse and other incidents, which made the team mediocre. The best result was the first round of the playoffs.

In the 1992-93 season, the Rockets eliminated the Clippers and entered the semifinals, but lost to the Supersonics in overtime in the semifinal tiebreaker, and returned home.

In the 1993-94 season, the superstar Michael Jordan, who had won three consecutive championships, retired for the first time, and the league entered a situation of competition.The Rockets continued their form and entered the playoffs strongly.

The Rockets easily eliminated the Trail Blazers in the first round, but fell into a disadvantage in the semifinals against the Suns, but finally reached the Western Conference Finals with a score of 4-3 by virtue of their strong resilience.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets easily defeated the Jazz and returned to the Finals after 1986.

The Rockets' opponent in the third finals was the Knicks led by Patrick Ewing. In the end, under the leadership of Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets defeated the Knicks 4-3 and won the championship for the first time in team history.

Hakeem Olajuwon won the Most Valuable Player of the season, the Most Valuable Player of the Finals and the Best Defensive Player awards. The unprecedented honor made him briefly sit on the No.1 throne in the league.

In the 1994-95 season, the defending champion Rockets got off to a bad start. Although Clyde Drexler joined midway, they failed to pull the Rockets out of the quagmire.That season, the Rockets ranked sixth in the West in the regular season.

In the playoffs, Olajuwon regained his strong form and led the Rockets through obstacles to reach the Western Conference Finals. The opponent was the Spurs led by regular season MVP David Robinson.

Olajuwon knocked out David Robinson in this series and put the Admiral in shame.

In the finals, the young Sharks couldn't resist the red-eyed Olajuwon and were swept home by the Rockets.The Rockets set a record for winning the championship with the lowest qualifying.

In the 1995-96 season, the god of basketball returned, and the stars in the league could no longer get their hands on the highest honor.

At the end of the 1997-98 season, Jordan, who won six championships, retired for the second time. The second master Scottie Pippen came to the Rockets to partner with Hakeem Olajuwon.But the Rockets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and failed to achieve any achievements.

After the season ended, Pippen was traded to the Trail Blazers by the Rockets.

In the summer of 2001, Olajuwon rejected the Rockets' $1300 million contract and accepted the Raptors' three-year, $3 million offer.However, due to a sharp decline in injuries, he announced his retirement after the season.

In the 2001-02 season, the Rockets, which lost Hakeem Olajuwon, only achieved a record of 28 wins and 54 losses, and they won the No. [-] pick that year.

In the summer of 2002, the Rockets used this No. [-] lottery to select the Chinese player Yao Ming.

Yao Ming is the first foreign No. [-] pick in the history of the league, which is an unprecedented first time.It was this big man with yellow skin and black hair that allowed the Rockets to gain a large number of fans and become one of the most popular NBA teams in the country.

The high attention and positive votes of the Chinese people made Yao Ming elected as the All-Star starter in his rookie season, and it was center Shaquille O'Neal who was in full swing at the time who was pushed out of the starting position by him.

Stoudemire and Yao Ming are rookies in the same class. He emphasized more than once that he is stronger than Yao Ming, and even provoked him after dunking in the game.At that time, the big brother of the team, Steve Francis, stood up for Yao Ming, and the tough shot turned into a classic photo, which remained in the hearts of fans.

Steve Francis took care of the rookie Yao Ming, so that he was affectionately called the boss of Fu by domestic fans, but the two partners did not last long.

In the summer of 2004, the Rockets and the Magic reached a deal, with Steve Francis and the big cat Mobley as the main body, from the Magic trade to the two consecutive scoring champion Tracy McGrady.

It is true that Yao Mai's Rockets have become the team with the annual championship and the first round tour in Heizi's eyes, but the Rockets in those years, even role players, can be well known by domestic fans.

This period of regretful but passionate years is the youth of many people. It is a familiar matter, so there is no need to mention it.Only McGrady gave up the No. 1 jersey for Ariza, which makes people feel similar to Olajuwon's going to Toronto. There is no problem with emotion and reason, but there will always be some regrets.

In the 2012-13 season, Darrell Morey traded Kevin Martin to James Harden, opening the era of Harden leading the team.

(End of this chapter)